Jam Sandwich biscuits and simplicity

I love how effective these biccies are, and they’re only a little bit more work than a simple jam drop. They’re soft and jam-filled and delightful with an afternoon tea. The ruby red of the jam and the blackness of my tea look just gorgeous together and the sweetness of the biccies complements a strong black cuppa. I hosted a mini tea party for myself to celebrate the beauty of these biscuits – I’m not even ashamed to admit it!

They would suit an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party perfectly, so I think I’m going to have to hold another Mad Hatter’s Party like the one I did a few months ago (have you seen it? Check it out here!)

Jam sandwich biscuits

2 1/4 cups plain flour

3/4 cup sugar

225g butter, diced

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

1/4 cup strawberry jam

Icing sugar, to dust

Place the flour and sugar together in a bowl and mix. Add in the cubes of butter and mix until large crumbs form. Add in the egg yolks and then the vanilla, mixing to form a cohesive dough. To help make the dough stick together better, add in the milk, one tablespoon at a time. You may not need all of it, so add it slowly.

Generally with dough, if it’s crumbly when you’ve mixed all the ingredients in, it will be crumbly when you roll it out. Play it safe and add in a little liquid so that you don’t have crumbly jam biscuits.

Knead the dough (which should know make one big ball) for one minute with your dough hook (or for about four minutes by hand) and wrap in cling wrap, then pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Whip the dough out of the fridge and roll out to about 1/2cm on a floured surface. Grab your scone/biscuit butters (I chose crimped squares and circles) and cut out an even number of shapes.Now take a second, smaller shape cutter (I chose a love heart, but you can use any shape) and press it into the centre of half of the biscuits. Re-roll dough and repeat. At the end of the process you should have about 24 individual biscuits, which will make 12 sandwiches. I kept the mini hearts that came out of the centre of the biscuits and topped them with plain icing and sprinkles – they were a good addition to my high tea selection!

Line the biscuits up on your prepared tray (they won’t spread, so you don’t have to give them too much room, don’t worry) and bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow the biscuits to cool completely before attempting to sandwich them together – it’s easier this way and saves you from burning your fingers!

When all the biscuits have cooled, separate the solid biscuits and the biscuits with heart-shaped holes. Take the biscuits with holes in them and liberally sift icing sugar over them. Set these to one side, they’ll be your top bisctuits.

If you’re using a chunky jam like the Bonne Maman jam I used, mash the chunks out so that it’s smooth and can be spread thinly. Spread a teaspoon of jam over the solid biscuits (these will be the bottom biscuits), taking care to not spread it all the way to the edge. Try to spread the jam slightly thicker at the centre of the biscuit, where the heart shape will be.

Take a top and a bottom biscuit and squish them together, like a sandwich. These biscuits sound a little bit fiddly, but they’re so easy…and gorgeous!